


Lavender and sea holly

by chamomiliaWatson



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Agoraphobia, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Eventual Fluff, F/F, Fame, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff without Plot, Literature, Minor Original Character(s), Rejection, Social Anxiety, mild stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:49:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamomiliaWatson/pseuds/chamomiliaWatson
Summary: Asahina Aoi takes up reading.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi/Fukawa Touko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

Waves crashed against the rocks as Aoi gazed out at the vast sea, the scent of salt heavy in the air. She always worried her athleticism would make her an undesirable partner, but now the fear compounded, another girl from her swim practice had turned her down.

Her chest felt hollow. She wasn’t sad or upset but hollow. She didn’t know why she hadn’t cried from the brutal rejection; the void in her chest consumed all other emotions. She turned and waited a moment to listen to the waves before she walked off back towards her apartment with a sigh.

She laid in bed and listened to melancholic songs, which made the void in her chest grow, yet provided a kind of catharsis in the familiarity of rejection. She glanced at a shelf in her bedroom, which held a few books, and walked over to it. She picked a book at random and scanned the cover;

‘ _So lingers the ocean_ ’ by Toko Fukawa.

She remembered she’d bought this a while ago but never read it. She didn’t read a lot as it is, and with her constant swim practice, she struggled to find time to read. Aoi figured now was as good of a time as any, so she sat and cracked open the book.

To her surprise, she found herself captivated by the story and finished the entire book within a single night; she even teared up at the end. Now she knew why people called Fukawa the ‘ultimate writing prodigy.’

Aoi filled with the desire to learn more about the author, and it overtook the empty hole inside her.  
She grabbed her smartphone and googled the author’s name but just found a few results that reiterated the same story about how she got her start in literature from a love letter.

The websites hadn’t quelled Aoi’s intrigue, so she kept up the search and came across a few bizarre websites, which ranged from claims Fukawa acted as a killer in secret to middle-aged women who gushed about the quality of her work.

But beneath all those sites, Aoi found a rumor that Fukawa had attended Riverbank Girl’s High School, which lay in the same town Aoi lived. And so, she had an idea.

The next day, after swim practice, Aoi set out for the local book store, as she figured it could be a decent point to start.

As she entered and took note of how absurd she appeared, some weird Fukawa superfan trying to meet with her after she enjoyed her book, but at this point, she’d already come to terms with the absurdity. She could make the excuse ‘she came here to buy more of her novels’ to reason with herself.

The bell on the store’s door chimed as a girl walked in, disheveled, with long dark-purple braids that flowed down past her hips and large round glasses. Aoi glanced at the girl as she walked by but figured she couldn’t be Fukawa since she dressed like... she had yet to experience love.

The book store owner raised her head from behind her desk, “Ah, Toko, I wondered if you’d be in today.”

Aoi’s ears pricked, but she chalked it up to a coincidental shared first name, plenty of people had the name Toko in the world, even more so now Fukawa had become famous. She figured it’d be better to be diligent anyway and speak with the girl, in case.

Aoi walked over to where she browsed and gave a quick wave and a smile when Toko glanced her way, “Heya!”  
She flinched as Aoi acknowledged her, “Wh-What do you want?!”  
Aoi grimaced, surprised by her hostility, “Oh, I wanted to see if you had book recommendations. The shopkeep addressed you by name, so…”  
“W-Well, I don’t, so leave me alone!”

It became clear to Aoi at this point Toko wasn’t the one she’d hoped for; she didn’t have social skills, let alone any romantic ones. She conceded and left the misidentified girl in peace to do her own thing.

Aoi didn’t encounter anyone she suspected to be Fukawa the rest of the day and came home disappointed, but with a few more of her novels to read. That’s how the next few weeks persisted; Aoi would go to the book store after swim practice and stake the place out.

Sometimes she’d notice Toko come in, and when their eyes would meet, she’d flash her a quick smile, which often resulted in Toko dropping her gaze. Even though she appeared rude when they first met, Aoi kept her warm demeanor since she figured she could make a new friend, if nothing else.

Little by little, she broke her guard as Toko’s gaze lingered a bit more after Aoi would smile; she sometimes even nodded in response, a massive improvement over how she acted when they first acknowledged each other.

Aoi sensed now might be a good time to attempt to talk with her again, so she approached Toko, who once again walked through the bookstore aisles.

Aoi went with a less intense tone this time, “Hey.”  
Toko flicked her eyes over to Aoi for a moment before she turned away again, “H-Hey…”  
“What are you lookin’ for?”  
“J-Just the usual… r-r-romance novels...”  
Aoi beamed as she realized they were a little more alike than she assumed, “Seriously? Who’s your favorite author?”  
“I-I dunno really… d-do you have one?”  
“Yeah! It’s gotta be Toko Fukawa!”

Toko’s breath caught in her chest as she heard her name come out of Aoi’s mouth, and her heart pounded,

“Ehehe… Wh-what do you l-like most about them?”  
“Definitely how realistically the author portrays romance, she knows what she’s writing!”  
Toko flushed and locked her eyes to the floor, “I-I’m not s-so sure…”  
“Oh? You don’t like Fukawa’s work?”  
“N-No… I-It’s… I know the author, a-and she isn’t like that at all…”  
Aoi’s face lit up at Toko’s admission, “Really? Can I meet her?!”  
“Y-You still wanna meet her after knowing that she’s n-not what you expected?”  
“I don’t mind; I like her for her beautifully written love stories, not how many people she’s dated in real life.”  
Toko grinned, “Y-You already met her… I-I’m Toko Fukawa.”


	2. Chapter 2

Aoi’s eyes widened, “Wait, seriously?”  
Toko gave a mischievous giggle, “Y-Yeah!”  
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Aoi!”

She felt dumb. Toko Fukawa was under her nose the entire time, and she didn’t figure it out until explicitly told. Aoi spoke to her about her novels for the next few minutes, hesitant since she had no doubt Toko got it a lot, but she had a genuine smile on her face as she discussed her literary work.

Toko pressed her hand to her lips for a moment before her smile faded, “I-I’ve got to go.”  
Aoi’s face fell, “Uh, Okay... I’ll see you around?”  
She turned away without another word and left the bookstore. Aoi followed with her eyes as she left, confused at her sudden change of demeanor.

The next time Toko showed in the bookstore, she gave Aoi the cold-shoulder. Aoi gave her some space as she explored; maybe she had a bad day. At one point, Aoi caught her eye and gave her a smile, to which Toko scowled.  
She resolved to talk to her before she left today to ask what was wrong.

“Hey, Toko…”  
“Wh-What do you want, Aoi? A-Are you h-here to torment me again?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Y-You p-pretended to like my work just t-to make fun of me!”  
Aoi frowned, “I didn’t-”  
Toko clenched her skirt in her fists, “L-Leave me alone, I-I’m already miserable. I-I don’t need your help.”

Aoi was confused but conceded and left her to herself, Toko was upset, and she didn’t want to worsen it.

Aoi no longer visited the bookstore since she didn’t want to ruin the space for Toko, even if what she’d accused her of never happened.

The void inside her returned, and it ate away at her all over again. She got so consumed by the weight pressed down on her she missed swim practice some days. She didn’t know why it got so bad, maybe because Toko’s literature helped her escape the same void in the first place. At least, that was her best guess.

She walked over to her bookshelf again and picked up her copy of ‘ _Blue Thread from the Scarred Mountain_ ’ She opened it but had no willpower to read since it reminded her of Toko.

Aoi was headed to swim practice when she noticed a girl stood by the pool entrance, which she recognized immediately, Toko Fukawa.

Aoi flashed a smile, “Toko?”  
Toko clenched her fists, her gaze trained on the floor, “D-Don’t pretend t-to be friends with me now! I’m only here t-to use you before I d-drop you forever!”  
“... What’s up?”  
“I-I need to research s-swimming for my next novel, and you’re g-going to be my in!”

Aoi waited for her coach to arrive and explained Toko wanted to join the practice to research for a novel, and she was allowed in with the swim team. Toko took a seat by the edge of the pool, and the team trained as she noted form and terminology the coach used to save for later.

The practice came to an end, and everyone filed out from the pool, but Aoi told the coach she wanted to stay a bit to practice some more, and she’d lock up when she left. The coach had no real reason to disagree, so he handed her the spare keys and left her and Toko alone. Aoi figured now would be the best chance she had to make up.

“Hey, Toko.”  
“Wh-What do you want now? I-I’m done with you!”  
She sighed, “I know, I figured it might be a little easier to write your novel if I gave you a demonstration in private.”  
Toko’s cheeks burned, “A p-private demonstration... a-are you some p-pervert?!”  
Aoi waved her hands in a furious dismissal, “I-I didn’t mean it like that!”  
“Then, I-I guess it’s o-okay…”

She nodded and climbed back into the pool and explained some more detailed terminology and maneuvers, which Toko appreciated.  
After she demonstrated, Aoi swam over to the edge and glanced at her,

“Hey, why don’t you swim with me? It’ll help you write in more detail.”  
“N-No... I-I can’t... I-I can’t s-swim...”  
“That’s no problem; I can teach you!”  
“I-I-I mean, I-I don’t even h-have a s-swimsuit!”  
“They sell swimsuits here, ya know?”  
Toko sighed as she relented to the persistent Aoi and gave a solemn nod.

Aoi couldn’t help but grin as she climbed out of the pool and walked with her to the changing rooms. Toko scanned the swimsuits until she found a one-piece that concealed enough of her body and changed into it.

She walked out, her face flushed, and arms crossed, “Th-There.”  
“Cute!”  
“J-Jeez… M-Maybe, you are some kind of pervert.”  
Aoi exhaled, “Rude; I am not!”  
Toko smirked, “I-If you say so.”

Aoi climbed into the water, followed by the nervous Toko, who stayed gripped onto the ladder to keep herself safe. She swam over and held her hand out; Toko recoiled a bit at the gesture.

“Trust me?”  
“Wh-what?”  
“Take my hand.”

Toko let go of the pool ladder and grasped for Aoi’s arm as she fiercely paddled her feet.

“It’s okay, calm down a bit. You trust me, right?”

She slowed, kept afloat with the help of Aoi’s arm. Aoi flashed a smile and pushed herself backward as she towed Toko behind her with her arm. She hadn’t noticed how frail Toko was until she pulled her weight.

“See, it’s fun right?”  
Toko gave a small smile, “Y-Yeah!”  
Aoi giggled and took her back to the edge of the pool, “Now try it by yourself; I’ll swim beside you and keep you safe.”  
“O-Okay…”

Toko let go of the edge and swam across the pool alongside Aoi.

Toko did well for the most part but fumbled and sucked in some water on accident, which caused her to panic. Aoi swam in, and Toko wrapped her arms around Aoi’s chest as she pressed herself against her for support.

“Th-That was way too d-dangerous...”  
Aoi frowned as she kept both herself and Toko afloat, “Jeez... sorry Toko, do you wanna get out?”

“No… But... I th-think it’s b-because y-you’re here with me…”


End file.
